Download or read book The Dread Disease written by James T. PATTERSON and published by Harvard University Press. This book was released on 2009-06-30 with total page 397 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Relates the cultural history of cancer and examines society's reaction to the disease through a century of American life.
Download or read book The Most Dreaded Disease written by Al Sanders and published by . This book was released on 1982 with total page 45 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book AIDS Fear and Society written by Kenneth J. Doka and published by Taylor & Francis. This book was released on 2014-05-01 with total page 206 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Historically, AIDS is just one of a series of dreaded diseases that have aroused both great fear and irrational actions. The previous diseases, including bubonic plague, syphilis, tuberculosis, leprosy and cancer, have evoked such a sense of dread that rational moves to halt the disease have become compromised.; This text examines the deep sense of fear that AIDS evokes, stigmatizing those who suffer from the disease, as well as their families and caregivers. Until AIDS can be seen for what it actually is - a life-threatening disease - policies providing for humane treatment will not evolve. The book also emphasizes that diseases are more than biological phenomena or individual catastrophes - they are profoundly social events. The ways in which diseases are spread and treated are strongly influenced by larger sociological considerations, and they may have the capacity to change social institutions or society Itself. Rooting Aids In The History Of Diseases, The First Part Of The book reviews the nature, history and responses of earlier dreaded diseases. The next section examines AIDS itself, proposed as the archetypal dreaded disease. Already creating a sense of panic, AIDS is also shown to be a social disease, likely to have significant effects on the social order. Thus, only by containing the epidemic of fear and controlling the resulting irrationality, can the AIDS epidemic be halted.
Download or read book The Dread Disease written by James T. Patterson and published by Harvard University Press. This book was released on 1987 with total page 397 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In a subtle and penetrating cultural history, Patterson examines reactions to the disease through a century of American life. Readers interested in the cultural dimensions of science and medicine as well as historians, sociologists, and political scientists will be enlightened and challenged by this book.
Download or read book What You Need to Know about Infectious Disease written by Madeline Drexler and published by . This book was released on with total page pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book Rabid written by Bill Wasik and published by Penguin. This book was released on 2013-06-25 with total page 290 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The most fatal virus known to science, rabies-a disease that spreads avidly from animals to humans-kills nearly one hundred percent of its victims once the infection takes root in the brain. In this critically acclaimed exploration, journalist Bill Wasik and veterinarian Monica Murphy chart four thousand years of the history, science, and cultural mythology of rabies. From Greek myths to zombie flicks, from the laboratory heroics of Louis Pasteur to the contemporary search for a lifesaving treatment, Rabid is a fresh and often wildly entertaining look at one of humankind's oldest and most fearsome foes. "A searing narrative." -The New York Times "In this keen and exceptionally well-written book, rife with surprises, narrative suspense and a steady flow of expansive insights, 'the world's most diabolical virus' conquers the unsuspecting reader's imaginative nervous system. . . . A smart, unsettling, and strangely stirring piece of work." -San Francisco Chronicle "Fascinating. . . . Wasik and Murphy chronicle more than two millennia of myths and discoveries about rabies and the animals that transmit it, including dogs, bats and raccoons." -The Wall Street Journal
Download or read book Constructions of Cancer in Early Modern England written by Alanna Skuse and published by Springer. This book was released on 2015-11-11 with total page 373 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book is open access under a CC-BY licence. Cancer is perhaps the modern world's most feared disease. Yet, we know relatively little about this malady's history before the nineteenth century. This book provides the first in-depth examination of perceptions of cancerous disease in early modern England. Looking to drama, poetry and polemic as well as medical texts and personal accounts, it contends that early modern people possessed an understanding of cancer which remains recognizable to us today. Many of the ways in which medical practitioners and lay people imagined cancer – as a 'woman's disease' or a 'beast' inside the body – remain strikingly familiar, and they helped to make this disease a byword for treachery and cruelty in discussions of religion, culture and politics. Equally, cancer treatments were among the era's most radical medical and surgical procedures. From buttered frog ointments to agonizing and dangerous surgeries, they raised abiding questions about the nature of disease and the proper role of the medical practitioner.
Download or read book The Emperor of All Maladies written by Siddhartha Mukherjee and published by Simon and Schuster. This book was released on 2011-08-09 with total page 624 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Winner of the Pulitzer Prize and a documentary from Ken Burns on PBS, this New York Times bestseller is “an extraordinary achievement” (The New Yorker)—a magnificent, profoundly humane “biography” of cancer—from its first documented appearances thousands of years ago through the epic battles in the twentieth century to cure, control, and conquer it to a radical new understanding of its essence. Physician, researcher, and award-winning science writer, Siddhartha Mukherjee examines cancer with a cellular biologist’s precision, a historian’s perspective, and a biographer’s passion. The result is an astonishingly lucid and eloquent chronicle of a disease humans have lived with—and perished from—for more than five thousand years. The story of cancer is a story of human ingenuity, resilience, and perseverance, but also of hubris, paternalism, and misperception. Mukherjee recounts centuries of discoveries, setbacks, victories, and deaths, told through the eyes of his predecessors and peers, training their wits against an infinitely resourceful adversary that, just three decades ago, was thought to be easily vanquished in an all-out “war against cancer.” The book reads like a literary thriller with cancer as the protagonist. Riveting, urgent, and surprising, The Emperor of All Maladies provides a fascinating glimpse into the future of cancer treatments. It is an illuminating book that provides hope and clarity to those seeking to demystify cancer.
Download or read book Epidemic Invasions written by Mariola Espinosa and published by University of Chicago Press. This book was released on 2009-11-15 with total page 201 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In the early fall of 1897, yellow fever shuttered businesses, paralyzed trade, and caused tens of thousand of people living in the southern United States to abandon their homes and flee for their lives. Originating in Cuba, the deadly plague inspired disease-control measures that not only protected U.S. trade interests but also justified the political and economic domination of the island nation from which the pestilence came. By focusing on yellow fever, Epidemic Invasions uncovers for the first time how the devastating power of this virus profoundly shaped the relationship between the two countries. Yellow fever in Cuba, Mariola Espinosa demonstrates, motivated the United States to declare war against Spain in 1898, and, after the war was won and the disease eradicated, the United States demanded that Cuba pledge in its new constitution to maintain the sanitation standards established during the occupation. By situating the history of the fight against yellow fever within its political, military, and economic context, Espinosa reveals that the U.S. program of sanitation and disease control in Cuba was not a charitable endeavor. Instead, she shows that it was an exercise in colonial public health that served to eliminate threats to the continued expansion of U.S. influence in the world.
Download or read book The Lassa Ward written by Dr. Ross Donaldson and published by St. Martin's Press. This book was released on 2009-05-12 with total page 297 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Ross Donaldson is one of just a few who have ventured into dark territory of a country ravaged by war to study one of the world's most deadly diseases. As an untried medical student studying the intersection of global health and communicable disease, Donaldson soon found himself in dangerous Sierra Leone, on the border of war-struck Liberia, where he struggled to control the spread of Lassa Fever. The words, "you know Lassa can kill you, don't you?" haunted him each day. With the country in complete upheaval and working conditions suffering, he is forced to make life-and-death decisions alone as a never-ending onslaught of contagious patients flood the hospital. Soon however, he is not only fighting for others but himself when he becomes afflicted with a life threatening disease. The Lassa Ward is more than just an adventure story about the making of a physician; it is a portrait of the Sierra Leone people and the human struggle of those risking their daily comforts and lives to aid them.
Download or read book House on Fire written by William H. Foege and published by Univ of California Press. This book was released on 2011-06-06 with total page 240 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: “Bill Foege takes us inside the world's greatest public health triumph: the eradication of smallpox. It's a story of true determination, passion and courage. The story of smallpox should encourage all of us to continue the critical work of worldwide disease eradication.”--Bill Gates, Co-Chair of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation “Bill Foege is one of the public health giants of our times. He was responsible for the design of the campaign that eradicated smallpox—the most important global health achievement in history and possibly the greatest feat in any field of international cooperation. His insights into the nature of this major event will undoubtedly help to meet the global health challenges of the 21st century.”—Julio Frenk, M.D, PhD, Dean, Harvard School of Public Health “The eradication of a disease has long been the holy grail of global health and Bill Foege found it: more than any other person, he was responsible for the eradication of smallpox from the face of the earth. This is a story told by a remarkably humble man, about the extraordinary coalition that he helped to build, and the most impressive global health accomplishment the world has ever seen.”—Mark Rosenberg, author of Real Collaboration: What It Takes for Global Health to Succeed “I am thrilled that Bill Foege, one of the great heroes of the smallpox eradication campaign, has written this important book. It tells a beautiful human story of an incredible public health triumph, and is full of lessons that could be applied to many of the global challenges we face today.”—Helene D. Gayle MD, President and CEO, CARE USA “Bill Foege’s House on Fire is the first-hand account of how a revised strategy to eradicate smallpox was tested, validated, and applied. Without the global adoption of this new surveillance strategy, the final deathblow to this longtime global menace might never have been dealt.”—Adetokunbo O. Lucas, MD, DSc, author of It Was The Best of Times: From Local to Global Health “Smallpox is the most devastating disease the world has known, as it destroyed lives and shaped history over the centuries. House on Fire provides a day-to-day account by my friend Dr. Bill Foege of the battle required to defeat this wily and diabolic virus."--President Jimmy Carter
Download or read book TxNxM1 written by J.M. Debois and published by Springer Science & Business Media. This book was released on 2006-05-08 with total page 765 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Although distant metastases are the most dreaded situation in the evolution of cancer of every organ, the medical literature has surprisingly given little attention to the anatomical relationship between the primary tumor and metastasic sites. Only risk factors, treatment possibilities, and survival results are extensively examined. Stimulated by the occurrence in his practice of some puzzling and unexpected metastases, the author reviewed more than 12,000 references. He looked for anatomical relationships highlighting the relation between the location of the primary tumors and the particular patterns of metastasis observed. It would seem that the `pathways and flows' are apparently a more decisive factor in the implantation of the metastases than the `seed and soil' properties of the cancer cells and the metastatic site. Aided by his colleague Dr. T. Geukens, M.D., the author includes original anatomical drawings, illustrating the sometimes unexpected pathways the cancer cells follow in order to reach the organs where they will become lodged and give rise to metastatic tumors. The subject has apparently not been exhausted in the literature and several ideas are given for further research.
Download or read book Veterans and Agent Orange written by Committee to Review the Health Effects in Vietnam Veterans of Exposure to Herbicides and published by National Academies Press. This book was released on 1994-01-15 with total page 791 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Have U.S. military personnel experienced health problems from being exposed to Agent Orange, its dioxin contaminants, and other herbicides used in Vietnam? This definitive volume summarizes the strength of the evidence associating exposure during Vietnam service with cancer and other health effects and presents conclusions from an expert panel. Veterans and Agent Orange provides a historical review of the issue, examines studies of populations, in addition to Vietnam veterans, environmentally and occupationally exposed to herbicides and dioxin, and discusses problems in study methodology. The core of the book presents What is known about the toxicology of the herbicides used in greatest quantities in Vietnam. What is known about assessing exposure to herbicides and dioxin. What can be determined from the wide range of epidemiological studies conducted by different authorities. What is known about the relationship between exposure to herbicides and dioxin, and cancer, reproductive effects, neurobehavioral disorders, and other health effects. The book describes research areas of continuing concern and offers recommendations for further research on the health effects of Agent Orange exposure among Vietnam veterans. This volume will be critically important to both policymakers and physicians in the federal government, Vietnam veterans and their families, veterans organizations, researchers, and health professionals.
Download or read book Illness as Metaphor written by Susan Sontag and published by . This book was released on 1979 with total page 100 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: "In this penetrating analysis of the social attitudes toward various major illnesses - chiefly tuberculosis, the scourge of the 19th century, and cancer, the terror of our own - Susan Sontag demonstrates that "illness is not a metaphor" and shows why "the healthiest way of being ill is one purified of metaphoric thinking." Once tuberculosis was identified as a bacterial infection, it ceased to be a symbol of a romantic fading away or of a sensitive or artistic temperament, and it could be treated and cured. Similarly, we must today cease to think of cancer as a mark of doom, a punishment or a sign of a repressed personality, and recognize it for what it is: one disease among many and often receptive to treatment." -- from back cover.
Download or read book Teratologies written by Jackie Stacey and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2013-07-23 with total page 306 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Stories of cancer are full of monster and marvels; the monstrousness of the disease and the treatments, the marvels of the cures and the saved lives. Still one of the most dreaded diseases to haunt our imaginations, cancer is more than an illness - it is a cultural phenomenon. People who have cancer are bombarded with competing explanations of their conditions: it is genetically inherited; it is environmentally produced; it is the result of their personality. Teratologies - A Cultural Study of Cancer investigates how this disease is perceived, experienced and theorised in contemporary society. It explores changing beliefs about the causes of, and the cures for, cancer in both biomedicine and its increasingly popular alternative counterparts. Analysing conventional and alternative medical accounts, self-help manuals and patients' personal stories, Jackie Stacey takes a critical look at the place of heroes, metaphors, the self and the body in these competing bids to produce the authoritative definition of the meaning of cancer today. Interspersed with these detailed textual investigations are discussions of broader issues such as the feminist debates about the history of science, the place of consumer culture in health practices and the status of patients and of health professionals in postmodern society. Combining authobiographical narratives with contemporary theoretical debates, the author carves out a specifically feminist analysis of the cultural dimensions of cancer. She brings accounts of her own illness under the critical lens of academic scrutiny and situates these personal stories within a discussion of contemporary cultural change.
Download or read book Malignant Metaphor written by Alanna Mitchell and published by ECW Press. This book was released on 2015-09-01 with total page 168 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: “Clear medical explanations . . . will bring comfort to those readers and their loved ones facing a cancer diagnosis” (Publishers Weekly). A Finalist for the Lane Anderson Award for Science Writing Alanna Mitchell explores the facts and myths about cancer in this powerful book, as she recounts her family’s experiences with the disease. When her beloved brother-in-law John is diagnosed with malignant melanoma, Alanna throws herself into the latest clinical research, providing us with a clear description of what scientists know of cancer and its treatments. When John enters the world of alternative treatments, Alanna does, too, looking for the science in untested waters. She comes face to face with the misconceptions we share about cancer, which are rooted in blame and anxiety, and opens the door to new ways of looking at our most-feared illness. Beautifully written, Malignant Metaphor is a compassionate and persuasive book that has the power to change the conversation about cancer. “Mitchell’s research is rooted in science, while her writing remains grippingly personal.” ―Quill & Quire
Download or read book Catching Cancer written by Claudia Cornwall and published by Rowman & Littlefield. This book was released on 2014-09-15 with total page 241 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Catching Cancer introduces readers to the investigators who created a medical revolution--a new way of looking at cancer and its causes. Featuring interviews with notable scientists such as Harald zur Hausen, Barry Marshall, Robin Warren, and others, the book tells the story of their struggles, their frustrations, and finally the breakthroughs that helped form some of the most profound changes in the way we view cancer. Claudia Cornwall takes readers inside the lab to reveal the long and winding path to discoveries that have changed and continue to alter the course of medical approaches to one of the most confounding diseases mankind has known. She tells the stories of families who have benefited from this new knowledge, of the researchers who made the revolution happen, and the breakthroughs that continue to change our lives. For years, we've thought cancer was the result of lifestyle choices, environmental factors, or genetic mutations. But pioneering scientists have begun to change that picture. We now know that infections cause 20 percent of cancers, including liver, stomach, and cervical cancer, which together kill almost 1.8 million people every year. While the idea that you can catch cancer may sound unsettling, it is actually good news. It means antibiotics and vaccines can be used to combat this most dreaded disease. With this understanding, we have new methods of preventing cancer, and perhaps we may be able to look forward to a day when we will no more fear cancer than we do polio or rubella.
